The taxonomy of this variety is questionable. Rushforth (1987) has rejected alliance of this variety with A. vejarii and placed this taxon close to Abies durangensis. The latter species occurs in the Sierra Madre Occidental; A. vejarii is native in the Sierra Madre Oriental (including its varieties).

Known from four disjunct locations, and with an area of occupancy (AOO) of 36 km² or less, this variety is prone to stochastic events that could destroy a subpopulation. It qualifies for listing as Vulnerable under criterion D2, as if one or more subpopulation were destroyed it would move very quickly towards qualifying for listing as Critically Endangered.